So far, it is mainly those on the left of the Democratic party who are expressing doubts.

As well they might. They campaigned for Mr Obama this year believing him to represent - in foreign policy above all - a clear alternative to Mrs Clinton, to the administration of George W. Bush (in which Mr Gates currently serves as defence secretary), and to John McCain (with whom Mr Jones, a former commandant of the marines, appeared during the campaign). Mr Obama has chosen a centrist if not centre-right team which, whatever its merits, calls into question the posture he adopted during the campaign. Has Mr Obama been subverted even before taking office?

The president-elect’s foreign policy will be formed more by the tests he faces from now on than by deduction from first principles. By mutual consent, many of his differences with Mr McCain and Mrs Clinton were exaggerated during the campaign. Some reversion to the mean - on the timing of withdrawal from Iraq, for instance, or in dealing with Iran - was to be expected. For the moment, therefore, the main question to ask of these appointments is not about Mr Obama’s foreign-policy aims, but whether he has chosen competent and effective lieutenants.

Mr Gates and Mr Jones arouse little concern on this score, but the same cannot be said of Mrs Clinton. She has merits, to be sure. Though inexperienced in foreign policy, she is widely travelled and known to the leaders of the countries she will be dealing with; she is “a global brand”. In energy and determination she is second to none. While strong-willed, she is also, let us say, capable of flexibility. Campaigning for election as senator for New York, she took a strongly pro-Israel stance, saying she considered Jerusalem the country’s “eternal and indivisible capital”; as secretary of state, her conviction on that sensitive matter will presumably soften.

But the main question is whether Mrs Clinton can subordinate not just her opinions but also her political ambitions to making the Obama administration a success. That must be in doubt. Her husband’s financial entanglements and irrepressible flair for scandal are further potential pitfalls. In weighing all this and choosing her regardless, Mr Obama has taken quite a risk - one that, in our view, is difficult to justify.

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